Hair styling, shaping or setting compositions are well known for use in styling the hair, including retaining a particular shape, curl or “wave” in the hair (e.g., a “perm”). Hair styling compositions also may be used to straighten naturally curly hair, or frizzy hair. These typically include a chemical treatment that includes breaking disulfide bonds in hair keratin through chemical reduction, followed by stretching the hair, and then oxidizing the air to restore the disulfide bonds.
Hair is composed of keratin, which becomes elastic, tending to return to its original state after having been bent. In order to create a permanent wave, the side chains of keratin are broken to temporarily remove the elasticity of hair, and then are recombined to set the hair in the desired configuration.
Conventional hair perm systems include a first agent that acts as a reducing agent to reduce the cysteine bonds in the keratin, and a second agent to oxidize the keratin to recombine the side chains previously broken by the reduction action of the first agent to wave and straighten hair.
A cold wave can be achieved in this manner, i.e., by applying a reducing agent such as thioglycolate to the hair to break sulfur bonds. The hair is next formed to the desired shape. The hair is then treated with an oxidizing agent such as a peroxide to reform the disulfide links in the hair. When the disulfide links re-form, they lock the hair in the set conformation.
However, this process is time consuming and expensive, requiring a session of at least 90 minute in the salon. This type of a permanent wave or “perm” may last up to six weeks, until the hair grows out.
Temporary waves or temporary setting of hair can be achieved with polymer or protein systems. In these systems, the polymer solution is applied to the hair and the hair is heated with a flat iron or a hair drier to about 400° F. This process removes moisture from the hair and causes the hair to relax by breaking the hydrogen bonds in the hair, which hold a certain type of structure. When the hair and applied polymer cools, the polymer sets and locks in the structure in which the hair is arranged. This type of temporary wave may last for a few days, but when the hair is washed, the polymer, which is water soluble, dissolves away and the water breaks the hydrogen bonds and allows the hair to return to its original conformation, and the set or wave is lost.
It would be desirable to provide a hair styling system, composition and method that allows for much faster hair straightening or hair wave or curl formation, and maintains the altered conformation for a long period of time.